When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. OurPrivacy Noticeexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Plymouth planners heard concerns that a new Aldi in Plympton could damage the viability of local shops - and have voted to defer a decision to give it the go-ahead.

They were discussing an application for the new store in an overflow car park next to Chaplin’s off Galileo Close.

Aldi says the new store would bring choice and create 40 jobs, with spin-off trade in the local area and minimal impact on local shops.

The store says it would attract millions of pounds of spending by local people currently doing their main shopping at Sainsbury’s at Marsh Mills and Tesco at Ivybridge.

But councillors were concerned about the impact on the Ridgeway Centre at Plympton, which has a Co-op anchor store and an Iceland.

The meeting heard that Co-op objected to the new Aldi because of concerns it would have a "significant" effect on trade.

The city council's planning committee was recommended to refuse the application because of a lack of up-to-date information about the effect on local shopping habits after Lidl opened in Plymouth Road in 2016.

But councillors voted to defer a decision after being told there was a problem with inaccurate figures in a report on the application.

It appeared information supplied by Aldi in its assessment of the impact of the new store on local shops had been incorrectly copied into the report.

Read More

Related Articles

Due to the problem with the figures, councillors voted on Friday to defer a decision to give time for the report to be checked and amended.

That would also allow time for Aldi to resolve the issues about traffic and the shopping survey.

A mock-up of the new Aldi store

The report said Aldi had refused to carry out a new Household Survey to assess the impact of a new store, and failed to give enough information about the effect on local traffic.

But a spokesman for Aldi told the meeting it had supplied “comprehensive evidence” about the retail impact of the proposed new store in line with planning guidance, using existing information and the results of a postal survey of 3,000 people with 800 responses.

Read More

Related Articles

Planning consultant David Williams said it was unreasonable to ask for a new survey and the evidence supplied showed the impact of the new Aldi on the local shops would be “very low”.

He said he was sure any highways issues could be resolved.

The proposed the location of the new store (Image: Google Maps)

The meeting on Friday was told that the new Joint Local Plan which sets out retail policy across the area shows a need for new stores in the west of the city but not at Plympton until 2026.

Patrick Nicholson, Conservative councillor for Plympton St Mary, said he was concerned that trade appeared to be down at the Ridgeway Co-op due to competition from Lidl, and he was concerned that might be affecting the level of investment in the store.

He said: “The danger is that Ridgeway will be affected if Co-op closes, and that is a real concern for Plympton people.

“Ridgeway is the heart of the Plympton community and one that we need to sustain, so we need to have sensitivity to the needs of Co-op and the operator of that unit.”

The meeting heard from a planning consultant Katie Priest on behalf of the Co-op, which objected to the Aldi application.

She pointed out the policy in the Joint Local Plan said there was no need for more shopping floorspace in the area until 2026.